I am not trying to disparage anyone. In my case. Although I played U-19 football, when it came to senior football, I was not good enough. Kendal Walkes, Mike Grayson, John Granville, Earl Carter, Gerard Homer, Robert Frances,Curtis Murrel all got picket to play for the senior team. I did not. They had it. I did not.

Strik­er Maylee At­tin-John­son and mid­field­er Ah­keela Mol­lon have both been draft­ed in­to a pro­vi­sion­al 35-woman squad ahead of the CON­CA­CAF Women's Cham­pi­onship that will be used as a qual­i­fi­er for the FI­FA Women's World Cup in France next year.

The girls were added to the squad in the midst of con­cerns there may not be enough play­ers to don the red, white and black for T&T at the qual­i­fiers to take place on Oc­to­ber 4-17 in the Unit­ed States.

How­ev­er, it is not con­firmed if the two will be part of the fi­nal team, but a mem­ber of the staff of the team that guid­ed the women's team to sec­ond place be­hind Ja­maica at the re­cent Caribbean Foot­ball Union (CFU) Qual­i­fiers in Kingston Ja­maica, said it was wise to in­clude them on the squad just in case they de­cide to show an in­ter­est to play.

"If they agree to play then we would have their names in al­ready, but if we did not put their names and they agree to play then it would have been a prob­lem," the staff mem­ber, who did not want to be iden­ti­fied ex­plained. The pro­vi­sion­al squad was cho­sen last week in the midst of des­per­ate ef­forts to chose a coach for the team.

An­ton Corneal was care­tak­er coach of the team fol­low­ing the res­ig­na­tion of Ja­maal Shabazz al­most two months ago. But with his con­tract ex­pir­ing at the end of the CFU qual­i­fiers, and monies owed to him by the T&T Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion (TTFA), Corneal has de­cid­ed to with­hold his ser­vices un­til pay­ments for three months salaries, as well as oth­er monies owed to him re­lat­ing to his con­trac­tu­al agree­ment, are paid.

Mean­while, mem­bers of the TTFA Board of Di­rec­tors have al­so raised an is­sue with the le­gal­i­ty of Richard Quan Chan's po­si­tion as Chair­man of the Tech­ni­cal Com­mit­tee. An An­nu­al Gen­er­al Meet­ing of the TTFA on June 30 this year, did not con­tain a quo­rum and there­fore the elec­tion of a tech­ni­cal com­mit­tee chair­man was not made, Kei­th Look Loy, a Board mem­ber told Guardian Me­dia Sports.

Mean­time, Shawn Coop­er, who was an as­sis­tant coach to Corneal in Ja­maica, has been the front-run­ner for the job, de­spite chal­lenges from Hait­ian coach Stephan De Four and James Baird, the for­mer Guaya Unit­ed coach for the top job.

Be­fore the CFU qual­i­fiers, the team faced is­sues of play­ers not be­ing in T&T to train, play­ers un­able to re­turn for the CON­CA­CAF Cham­pi­onship as they were at schools in the USA and con­cerns about in­juries, among oth­ers.

SHAWN COOPER seems set to add to his current portfolios as coach of TT Super League team Queen’s Park and Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) defending Premier Division champions Presentation San Fernando.

On Sunday, Cooper was recommended by TT Football Association (TTFA) technical committee chairman Richard Quan Chan to the TTFA board to replace Anton Corneal as coach of the national women’s football team.

Corneal, the current TTFA technical director, was the interim coach during the recent CONCACAF Caribbean Women’s Qualifiers (final round group) in Kingston, Jamaica, with Cooper as his assistant.

And Cooper will be tasked with the role of guiding the team during the CONCACAF Women’s Championship in the United States, from October 4-17.

T&T, United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Cuba, Panama and Jamaica will be competing at the CONCACAF Championship, with three teams guaranteed automatic spots at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, with the fourth-placed team involved in a play-off with a South American nation.

Quan Chan, in an e-mail to the TTFA hierarchy, which was obtained by Newsday, wrote, “I am requesting your support and approval for the appointment of Mr Shawn Cooper as the coach of the (TT) team that is preparing to participate in the (US) in October.

“With the existing situation, inclusive of the time constraints and having also reviewed the resume of others that have expressed interest in the position – along with discussions with (Corneal) and the team manager (Jinelle James), I am recommending Mr Cooper as the person most suitable to coach the team at this time, and ask for your support and approval for Mr Cooper to the position.”

But outspoken TTFA board member and TT Super League president Keith Look Loy has questioned Quan Chan’s authority with regards to recommending a national team coach.

In a response to Quan Chan’s e-mail, Look Loy wrote, “I do not know what authority you rely on to recommend anyone to be a coach of any national (football) team.

“The meeting (on June 30) that appointed you to the post of chairman of the technical committee was illegal as it failed to achieve a quorum,” Look Loy mentioned. “I do not consent to an important decision such as the appointment of a national coach be taken by e-mail, and without the Board even knowing who the other applicants are, or what their resumes look like. That is ludicrous.”

RELATED NEWS

DJW and Corneal still at loggerheads, TTFA hits snag in bid to appoint Cooper as women’s coach.Lasana Liburd (Wired868).

Twenty six days before their opening 2018 Concacaf Championship fixture against Panama in North Carolina, USA, the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Senior Team are still without a head coach.

And there is still little sign of warming relations between Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams and technical director Anton Corneal, who served as caretaker coach for the Women Soca Warriors during last month’s Caribbean Championship in Jamaica.

The upcoming Concacaf competition serves as a qualifying series for the France 2019 World Cup. However, Corneal said he would only consider continuing as caretaker coach under two conditions: that the appointment is sanctioned by the TTFA board; and John-Williams makes a significant step towards rectifying the football body’s supposed breach of its TD’s contract.

“My contract has been breached in four different ways,” Corneal told Wired868, “and that is non-payment of salary, non-payment of an agreed monthly sum for previous money owed to me, failure to provide a vehicle and failure to meet agreed lump sum payment (due every six months, as another part of the deal to pay off the technical director).

“[…] I gave them 14 days to come back to me with some plan to remedy that and nobody came back to me yet. So I am going to allow my lawyer to advise me on this situation.”

Corneal quit as technical director under the Raymond Tim Kee administration in 2014 with the TTFA owing him a six figure sum for unpaid salaries. In August 2017, he returned to the post under the current administration, as part of a deal that would allow the football body more time to satisfy the debt to its former employee.

Corneal resumed work without a signed contract from his employers.

“They had to rectify one part of the contract before they could sign and the president needed to give the GS the go-ahead,” he said. “I came into this job in August of last year and requested that signature every two months up until now.

“[…] Why do that unless they knew they were not going to honour it. But they have paid me something towards [their debt to me], so it means there must be some kind of agreement. So I will leave it for the lawyers to deal with that.”

In the 13 months since his return, Corneal said he got one lump sum payment (but not in full), five months’ worth of payment for the TTFA’s debt and eight months’ salary.

“All I have is a bunch of unfulfilled promises,” said Corneal. “The biggest problem is not knowing. Nobody picks up the phone to say I am not going to be paid this month. So we don’t know if we will be paid or not; and that is disrespectful.

“I am very much aware that [Men’s National Under-20 coach] Russell [Latapy] is going through the same thing with the same type of disrespect. People don’t do people that; it is nearly inhumane.”

Even as Corneal awaits feedback from the TTFA, the local football body signalled its intention to continue its Women’s World Cup preparations without him if necessary.

Yesterday, TTFA board member Richard Quan Chan—in his supposed role as technical committee chairman—recommended Shawn Cooper to the board as the new head coach of the Women’s Soca Warriors.

Cooper, a former Men’s National Under-17 Team coach, was brought into the women’s programme last month, after Corneal drafted him to serve as his assistant.

“I am requesting your support and approval for the appointment of Mr Shawn Cooper as the coach of the National Ladies Football Team that is preparing to participate in the final leg of the World Cup qualifier due in October 2018,” stated Quan Chan, via email. “With the existing situation, inclusive of the time constraints and having also reviewed the resume of others that have expressed interest in the position—along with discussions with the TD [Corneal] and the team manager [Jinelle James], I am recommending Mr Cooper as the person most suitable to coach the team at this time and ask for your support and approval for Mr Cooper to the position.

“Your response can be forwarded to myself and the GS. Thanking you for [your] responses.”

According to the TTFA constitution, the board of directors is the only body responsible for coaching appointments—a fact that was overlooked when Corneal was named caretaker in the first place.

“I do not know what authority you rely on to recommend anyone to be a coach of any TTFA national team,” Look Loy retorted. “The so-called meeting (30 June 2018) that appointed you to the post of chairman of the Technical Committee was illegal, as it failed to achieve a quorum. I will challenge your so-called appointment among the membership and in the media and expose you as part of the dictatorial charade being conducted by the TTFA President and his clique, of which you are decidedly a member.

“My advice to you, to the TTFA President and the TTFA General Secretary is that the aborted meeting of 29 August 2018 be recalled according to the TTFA Constitution.

“Finally, I do not consent to an important decision such as the appointment of a national coach be taken by email, and without the Board even knowing who the other applicants are, or what their resumes look like. That is ludicrous. Call a proper Board meeting.”

Look Loy’s stance was supported by Collin Partap, who is the Central Football Association’s (CFA) representative on the board and a former UNC MP for Couva/Manzanilla.

“I am in complete agreement with Mr Look Loy on this issue,” wrote Partap. “I [would] like to know who were the other applicants? Who are are the members of the committee? When was the board appointed and was there a quorum?

“And is this how we deal with important issues affecting football in this country? Call a board meeting now.”

Quan Chan admitted that the TTFA’s “technical committee” was not fully functional and comprised of just Corneal and himself. And, since Corneal was in the running for the women’s coaching post, Quan Chan made the decision alone, after “discussions with a number of football people.”

He confirmed that former Haiti Women’s National Senior Team coach Stephan De Four and ex-Guaya United coach James Baird were on a five-man shortlist for the job, which he eventually offered to Cooper.

“We are cash strapped, so any decision we have to make must be based on economy,” said Quan Chan. “Football today is a very expensive thing and coaches do not come cheap.”

It is a far cry from January 2017 when the TTFA hired a four-member foreign staff of Carolina Morace, Nicola Williams, Elisabetta Bavagnoli and Manuela Tesse to head the women’s programme at an estimated cost of US$24,000 per month.

Within six months, they had all left after alleged non-payment of salaries by the TTFA and Morace, a qualified attorney, told Wired868 that she initiated legal proceedings, so as to be paid up for her two year contract.

Quan Chan was non-plussed about the responses from Look Loy and Partap and said he is waiting to hear what other board members have to say about Cooper’s proposed appointment. He does not think it necessary to hold a board meeting for the matter.

“I don’t have the authority to call a board meeting, so I am using technology,” said Quan Chan.“Like everything else in today’s world we can [come to a decision by] round robin… I didn’t ask the president to call a board meeting because I sent out an email to board members.

“I am hoping to get information from the other members of the board by today, so I can inform the executive as to the decision of the board.”

The current TTFA constitution does not recognise an ‘executive’, and the board of directors is entrusted with handling the business of the local football body. As president, John-Williams is the chairman of the board while his vice-presidents, Ewing Davis and Joanne Salazar—Allan Warner is suspended due to repeat absences from meetings—are ordinary board members.

According to article 37.5 of the constitution: “the decisions taken by the board of directors shall come into effect immediately, unless the board of directors decides otherwise.”

Quan Chan hinted that the local football body is operating under an informal two-tier approach at present.

“If you look at the government, you see you have members of parliament and you have the cabinet,” said Quan Chan. “So when the MPs say things, it still needs final approval from cabinet. So I forward what happens to the president and the VPs, although they are part of the board too.”

Quan Chan confirmed that the Men’s National Under-17 programme is dormant and has been for the past five months, due to financial issues.

“We have nothing on the front burner with [the under-17 team],” said Quan Chan. “The teams in focus now are the ladies and the under-20s [who play in October and November respectively]. Efforts are being made to raise money so we can put those programmes fully into play.

“[…] Remember the monies that are owed to these two gentlemen, in both cases, are prior to 2014… But at this time, the Association is really cash strapped. [Those debts] have nothing to do with the present administration…”

Wired868 asked if that meant the TTFA met all its salary obligations to Corneal and Latapy.

“Well no, some salary is outstanding,” said Quan Chan. “I cannot tell you how much the salary backlog is because I do not deal with that money aspect of it. The best person to talk about that would be the president or the general secretary.”

Wired868 asked general secretary Justin Latapy-George why the local football body has not met its financial obligations to his half-brother, Latapy, and Corneal.

“I would have to say ‘no comment’,” said Latapy-George.

Why has the TTFA not given Corneal a signed contract?

“No comment.”

And what about Corneal’s position with the women’s team and the TTFA’s process of selecting a coach?

“Mr Corneal did meet with the president and myself and articulated his position and that is receiving our full attention as we speak,” said Latapy-George. “As far as the appointment of a women’s coach, my understanding is it has to go to the board for their approval.”

If Cooper is appointed, he does not foresee any problem in combining the new job with his current coaching duties in the Trinidad and Tobago Super League (TTSL) and the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) competitions.

At present, QPCC lead the 14-team TTSL standings and are in the League Cup semifinals while Presentation College (San Fernando) are the defending Premier Division champions.

“This tournament is just for two weeks and the women’s preparation happens in the morning,” said Cooper, “so it doesn’t affect me preparing Presentation or Queen’s Park. […] Also I have competent assistants in the school and at Queen’s Park.

“This happened before when I was the head coach of the National Under-17 Team and I was actually in Colombia with the national team when we won the Big Five competition with my assistant Dunstan Williams…”

In theory, the TTFA could get a two for one deal with Corneal and Cooper. Both have a long-standing relationship and Corneal travelled as technical director with Cooper’s National Under-17 Team in 2013.

“Once [my talks with John-Williams work] out, yes, I will go with Cooper as technical director,” said Corneal. “But if they continue to ignore me, why would I go to the US and I don’t know how I will live?”

A 35-member Trinidad and Tobago’s Women’s Team shortlist for the Concacaf competition was revealed today, which includes former captain Maylee Attin-Johnson and Ahkeela Mollon, who were not selected for the Caribbean Championship.

Wired868 understands the players were named after consultations between various technical staff members and may still be altered if necessary

“I didn’t create shortlist but at this stage it is customary that you will have everyone possible on the list in case you want to use them,” said Corneal. “So it gives the next coach the option to use everyone.”

« Last Edit: September 16, 2018, 06:19:17 AM by Flex »

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The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

A PAIR of frustrated national women footballers, Arin King and Lauryn Hutchinson, has taken to social media to issue a plea for help to ensure that the TT women's team qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.

The TT Football Association (TTFA), under the presidency of David John-Williams, is yet to appoint a coach for the national team, ahead of the CONCACAF Women's Championship, which will take place in the United States from October 4-17.

Eight teams will compete at the CONCACAF Women's Championship for three automatic spots at next year's World Cup.

The Canadian-born King, on her Facebook page, posted earlier today, "21 days away from our final stage of World Cup Qualifiers!! NO CAMP & NO OFFICIAL COACH! This is madness. Help us make a change for Women’s Football and to inspire Trinidad and Tobago! #ISTANDWITHTTWSW We are simply asking for support. #RoadToFrance2019 #EQUALITY"

Hutchinson has called for interested persons to support a proposed training camp in Richmond, Virginia where she lives, in terms of accommodation for the TT players, meals and/or training gear.

"We wanna bring the team to Richmond, we wanna create our own camp. If you have any resources that you can donate to us, please, please, please reach out to me," Hutchinson said.

Ironically, the national team suffered similar struggles during their campaign for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. In 2014, former coach Randy Waldrum posted a tweet outlining the lack of support the team received ahead of the CONCACAF Championship. Impoverished Haiti had pledged a donation then to assist their Caribbean neighbours.

By the way, isn't it certain that one way or the other they would have been without J. Shabazz because of the location of the tournament?

Maybe that's why he leggo the post.

Therefore the underlying point is that the TTFA would have been on notice of the need for a suitable coaching arrangement for this upcoming October tournament even prior to the CAC Games several weeks ago (July 19 - August 3?

By the way, isn't it certain that one way or the other they would have been without J. Shabazz because of the location of the tournament?

Maybe that's why he leggo the post.

That reads like bait.

From the word that has been out there, he is persona non-grata according to the US. Imagine if he was a Latas or Dwight. We arse up the creek when we have away games in the US. You see what they did to Rafael Marquez of Mexico. Don't forget Marvin Oliver could not go to the US.

A PAIR of frustrated national women footballers, Arin King and Lauryn Hutchinson, has taken to social media to issue a plea for help to ensure that the T&T women's team qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.

The TT Football Association (TTFA), under the presidency of David John-Williams, is yet to appoint a coach for the national team, ahead of the CONCACAF Women's Championship, which will take place in the United States from October 4-17.

Eight teams will compete at the CONCACAF Women's Championship for three automatic spots at next year's World Cup.

The Canadian-born King, on her Facebook page, posted earlier today, "21 days away from our final stage of World Cup Qualifiers!! NO CAMP & NO OFFICIAL COACH! This is madness. Help us make a change for Women’s Football and to inspire Trinidad and Tobago! #ISTANDWITHTTWSW We are simply asking for support. #RoadToFrance2019 #EQUALITY"

Hutchinson has called for interested persons to support a proposed training camp in Richmond, Virginia where she lives, in terms of accommodation for the T&T players, meals and/or training gear.

"We wanna bring the team to Richmond, we wanna create our own camp. If you have any resources that you can donate to us, please, please, please reach out to me," Hutchinson said.

Ironically, the national team suffered similar struggles during their campaign for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. In 2014, former coach Randy Waldrum posted a tweet outlining the lack of support the team received ahead of the CONCACAF Championship. Impoverished Haiti had pledged a donation then to assist their Caribbean neighbours.

RELATED NEWS

Women footballers begging for help.By Walter Alibey (Guardian).

Dis­re­spect­ed is how some play­ers of the T&T Women's team feel about the treat­ment met­ed out to them on the verge of the Oc­to­ber 4-17 Con­ca­caf Women's Cham­pi­onship which will be a qual­i­fi­er for the FI­FA Women's World Cup in France next year.

The team does not have a coach af­ter the con­tract of care-tak­er coach An­ton Corneal ex­pired at the end of the Caribbean Foot­ball Union (CFU) Qual­i­fiers in Kingston Ja­maica last month. And al­though Shawn Coop­er, who was Corneal's as­sis­tant at the CFU qual­i­fiers, was giv­en the nod for the coach­ing job, doubt sur­round­ed his se­lec­tion af­ter Kei­th Look Loy, a mem­ber of the Board of Di­rec­tors of the T&T Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion, has vowed to chal­lenge the va­lid­i­ty of the ap­point­ment, say­ing the An­nu­al Gen­er­al Meet­ing (AGM) that the TTFA claimed to have se­lect­ed Tech­ni­cal Com­mit­tee Chair­man Richard Quan Chan on June 30 this year, did not have a quo­rum.

How­ev­er, yes­ter­day, two play­ers, goal­keep­er Saun­dra Baron and de­fend­er Arin King took to so­cial me­dia to high­light their con­cerns, say­ing their prob­lems stem from lack or no sup­port from the par­ent foot­ball as­so­ci­a­tion. Baron, who rep­re­sent­ed T&T dur­ing a CFU Women's Chal­lenge ear­li­er this year at the Ato Boldon Sta­di­um in Cou­va, said, " I made an app and the hash­tag says I stand with T&T Women's So­ca War­riors. I made the graph­ic be­cause we are be­ing dis­re­spect­ed. We can't go on like this, they're treat­ing us like we're noth­ing."

King on the oth­er-hand called on any­one wish­ing to pro­vide help for the team's prepa­ra­tion. "Right now my team­mates and I are strug­gling to put to­geth­er the re­sources we need to qual­i­fy for a World Cup. Four years ago it was the same sto­ry, the same nar­ra­tive but it's even worse this time. We do not have a ton of re­sources and a lot of it comes from our as­so­ci­a­tion, but this is where you come in."

She added, "Right now, to­day, we do not have an of­fi­cial train­ing camp ahead of Con­ca­caf. We want to bring the team to Rich­mond, we want to cre­ate our own camp. If you have any re­sources that you can do­nate to us please reach out to me. If you want to host a play­er at your home for a few days if you have ex­tra wa­ter if you have got snacks or ba­nanas or any­thing that you can do­nate if you can buy a t-shirt so I can get my team­mates here."

King said her so­cial me­dia ac­count is usu­al­ly to in­spir­ing oth­ers and high­light pos­i­tiv­i­ty, but at this point, she re­al­ly need­ed the help of the pub­lic. "Trans­porta­tion, sup­port, field time, train­ing, strength and con­di­tion­ing, any­thing you are will­ing to do­nate, please help us. Let's get the team to Rich­mond as­ap be­cause right now we have no sup­port, we have not coached. Sup­port­ing us is not on­ly gonna help me. It's gonna in­spire all the lit­tle girls in Rich­mond and around the Unit­ed States that fol­low the sport, and it's go­ing to in­spire an en­tire na­tion, the na­tion of T&T."

The T&T team has been drawn in group 'A' of Women's Cham­pi­onship, along­side USA, Pana­ma and Mex­i­co. T&T opens its cam­paign against the Pana­ma­ni­ans on Oc­to­ber 4, be­fore fac­ing Mex­i­co and the Unit­ed States on Oc­to­ber 7 and 10 re­spec­tive­ly.

« Last Edit: September 14, 2018, 01:51:56 AM by Flex »

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The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Minister Cudjoe meets with TTFA Re: Women’s National Football TeamMinistry of Sport and Youth Affairs

The Honourable Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs along with senior officials of the Ministry met today with General Secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), Mr. Justin Latapy-George and Ms. Jinelle James, Manager of the Women’s National Football Team, in light of the recent claims circulating on Social Media in relation to the lack of support shown to the Trinidad and Tobago Senior Women’s Football Team.

The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs advises the public that no formal request was made to the Ministry by TTFA for assistance for the CONCACAF qualifiers for the FIFA women’s World Cup, or any other activities this year. Last week, a request was made for assistance with transportation for the locally based players to be transported to and from training at the Ato Boldon and Mannie Ramjohn Stadia in Trinidad. To this end, the Ministry has provided its buses to be used by the team.

On Monday September 10,, 2018, Ms. Janelle James contacted Mr. Patrice Charles, Director of Physical Education and Sport, MSYA to inquire about assistance for the team, in its efforts to have the foreign based players travel to Trinidad to join the locally based players for training. Mr. Patrice Charles provided the necessary guidance to Ms. James and informed her that a formal detailed request must be submitted by the TTFA, on its letterhead, to the Ministry, since the TTFA is the National Governing Body that has remit over the national team. However, on Tuesday 11th September 2018, the MSYA through Mr. Patrice Charles received an informal email from Ms. Jinelle James, Women’s National Team Manager requesting a total of $159,360. to cover the cost of airfare for 28 persons, in the effort to have all foreign based players travel to Trinidad for training and preparation.

Following the developments in the media relating to the issue, Minister Shamfa Cudjoe called the management of TTFA to a meeting to discuss and attempt to resolve the matter.

At today’s meeting, Mr. Justin Latapy-George, General Secretary of TTFA, claimed that neither he, nor the executive of TTFA were aware of the proposal being made by Ms. James and he requested that Ms. James’ proposal be withdrawn with immediate effect. Mr. Latapy-George further stated that the executive of TTFA is in the process of considering other options, contrary to what Ms. James proposed, to facilitate the preparation of the players, that may consist of having the locally based players travel to the USA to train with the foreign based players, rather than have the USA based players fly to Trinidad. He also stated that the TTFA executive is also in the process of finalizing arrangements for a coach and other technical support for the team.

Mr. Latapy-George stated that the executive would like the opportunity to meet and reason with the team’s management in order to properly discuss the matter at hand, and subsequently produce a detailed proposal along with a formal request for funding to the Ministry.

Minister Cudjoe reminded the TTFA officials that time is of the essence, and that the team is depending on the TTFA management to work diligently and harmoniously in the best interest of dedicated players, and football by extension.

Minister Cudjoe gave the officials a deadline of Monday September 17, 2018, no later than 12:00 pm, to submit the relevant proposal for consideration by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

Given the fact that the end of fiscal year 2017/2018 is upon us, the Ministry will explore all possible means in order to provide the necessary assistance to the team, once the required documents are submitted.

The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs remains committed to providing the relevant support in ensuring that T&T attains the highest standard of athletes at the international level. Further, the future of sport in Trinidad and Tobago is in good hands under the leadership and guidance of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

A MEETING between Minister of Sport Shamfa Cudjoe, the TT Football Association (TTFA) general secretary Justin Latapy-George and national women’s team manager Jinelle James took place yesterday to discuss issues surrounding funding for the senior women’s national team.

The release noted that no formal request for financial assistance was made by the TT Football Association (TTFA) for financial assistance for the Concacaf Women’s Championships or any other activities this year.

The release concluded that Latapy-George, in the meeting, said the executive “would like the opportunity to meet and reason with the team’s management in order to properly discuss the matter at hand, and subsequently produce a detailed proposal along with a formal request for funding to the Ministry.”

According to the ministry, the only request for assistance from the TTFA was for transport for players based in TT.

“On Monday September 10, 2018, Ms. Jinelle James (manager of the women’s team) contacted Mr. Patrice Charles, Director of Physical Education and Sport, MSYA to inquire about assistance for the team, in its efforts to have the foreign based players travel to Trinidad to join the locally based players for training.”

According to the Ministry, Charles advised James that a detailed request must be submitted by the TTFA, as the governing body, to the ministry.

“However, on Tuesday 11th September 2018, the MSYA through Mr Patrice Charles received an informal email from Ms Jinelle James, Women’s National Team Manager requesting a total of $159,360. to cover the cost of airfare for 28 persons, in the effort to have all foreign based players travel to Trinidad for training and preparation,” the release noted.

Cudjoe then called a meeting between the TTFA and the Ministry, which took place yesterday.

“At today’s meeting, Mr Justin Latapy-George, General Secretary of TTFA, claimed that neither he, nor the executive of TTFA were aware of the proposal being made by Ms James and he requested that Ms. James’ proposal be withdrawn with immediate effect. Mr. Latapy-George further stated that the executive of TTFA is in the process of considering other options, contrary to what Ms. James proposed, to facilitate the preparation of the players, that may consist of having the locally based players travel to the USA to train with the foreign based players, rather than have the USA based players fly to Trinidad.” The release noted that Latapy-George claimed the TTFA was in the process of finalising arrangements for the appointment of a coach and other technical support for the team.

“Mr Latapy-George stated that the executive would like the opportunity to meet and reason with the team’s management in order to properly discuss the matter at hand, and subsequently produce a detailed proposal along with a formal request for funding to the Ministry.

“Minister Cudjoe reminded the TTFA officials that time is of the essence, and that the team is depending on the TTFA management to work diligently and harmoniously in the best interest of dedicated players, and football by extension.

“Minister Cudjoe gave the officials a deadline of Monday September 17, 2018, no later than 12 pm, to submit the relevant proposal for consideration by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

“Given the fact that the end of fiscal year 2017/2018 is upon us, the Ministry will explore all possible means in order to provide the necessary assistance to the team, once the required documents are submitted.

“The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs remains committed to providing the relevant support in ensuring that T&T attains the highest standard of athletes at the international level. Further, the future of sport in Trinidad and Tobago is in good hands under the leadership and guidance of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs,” the release concluded.

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The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association’s (TTFA) board of directors is split down the middle over the body’s attempt to appoint Shawn Cooper as head coach of the Women’s National Senior Team without a board meeting.

At present, there are 12 active board members—inclusive of TTFA president and board chairman David John-Williams and his vice-presidents, Ewing Davis and Joanne Salazar. And, as of this evening, six members have indicated that they were not prepared to rubber stamp Cooper’s appointment without a formal meeting.

Article 36(j) of the TTFA constitution stipulates that the board “shall appoint the coaches for the representative teams and other technical staff.”

However, technical committee chairman Richard Quan Chan, who is also the Southern Football Association (SFA) president, suggested that board members do so via email.

“I don’t have the authority to call a board meeting, so I am using technology,” Quan Chan told Wired868. “Like everything else in today’s world we can [come to a decision by] round robin… I didn’t ask the president [David John-Williams] to call a board meeting because I sent out an email to board members.”

Keith Look Loy, the Trinidad and Tobago Super League (TTSL) president, immediately shot down Quan Chan’s proposal on several grounds and insisted that a board meeting be held.

The remaining board members who have not weighed in so far are: Anthony Moore (Tobago FA) and Wayne Cunningham (Eastern FA).

The TTFA has not held a board meeting since June while John-Williams did not attend their last attempted meeting on Wednesday 29 August, which ended without a quorum. According to the constitution, the “president shall convene the meetings of the board of directors at least once every two months.”

Partap, a former UNC MP for Couva/Manzanilla, was the first board member to back Look Loy.

“I am in complete agreement with Mr Look Loy on this issue,” stated Partap, via email to the TTFA board. “I [would] like to know who were the other [coaching] applicants? Who are are the members of the committee? When was the board appointed and was there a quorum?

“And is this how we deal with important issues affecting football in this country? Call a board meeting now.”

Quan Chan, in a direct response to Partap alone, gave some insight into the selection of Cooper as well as the exclusion of technical director Anton Corneal, who served as caretaker coach for the Women Soca Warriors at last month’s Caribbean Championship.

“In a meeting last week, Mr Corneal […] indicated his willingness [to] continue if he is paid a tidy sum of money and the FA will receive a pre action protocol letter shortly,” said Quan Chan. “Shawn Cooper was the assistant coach for the team [that] went to Jamaica and already [has] some knowledge of the players and the style they play, I thought it was the best fit at this time…”

The technical committee chairman—whose appointment has been deemed illegal by Look Loy—urged Partap to support Cooper’s appointment by email, in the interest of time.

“Colin (sic) in every aspect of life we are faced with the politics of different situations and personally I try as much as possible to keep focused on the task,” said Quan Chan. “In this instant we have serious time constraints and a lack of funds…

There is not (sic) disrespect intended in my approach but my focus was and is the preparation of the National Ladies Football Team.

“[…] While it might have been best for a board meeting to be convened I do not have the authority to so to do.”

Although Quan Chan pointed to time as a key factor, the Women’s Team returned to Trinidad since 3 September—which meant he and/or John-Williams had nine days to draw up a shortlist of candidates to present to the board. Several board members said they were prepared to attend a meeting on the appointment of a women’s coach within 24 hours, if necessary.

Quan Chan’s claim that he does not have the authority to call a board meeting to formally propose Cooper as head coach, also suggests, arguably, that John-Williams is unwilling to do so.

The TTFA president has refused to respond to Wired868 on local football business. Some board members appear to also have difficulty in getting straight answers.

Taylor urged general secretary Justin Latapy-George to set the date for another board meeting as soon as possible.

“Matters are not being constitutionally addressed and this cannot continue,” stated Taylor. “Requested information, decisions that have being announced and several other concerns of members need to be addressed and the refrain of ‘noted or acknowledged’, must be considered an insult at this time.

“The proper and right place to discuss and decide on these several important issues is at a board meeting.”

Warrick, Baptiste and Williams (K) concurred.

“I am in full support of my fellow board member Mr Keith Look Loy’s stance,” said Warrick, the WoLF vice-president. “All the Board members must be made aware of all the applicants and meet to decide the best choice available.”

“I too am very interested in when the next meeting would be held,” said Baptiste, “as I think that there are very important things that need to be discussed as a Board. And given that [today] would make it two weeks since the last meeting was called and did not come off due to the lack of a quorum.

“I look forward with anticipation for the new date.”

Williams (K) told the Latapy-George that he did not want to be party to a violation of the constitution, as he referenced article 36(j).

“I write this email as a reminder that we must be guided by the constitution,” stated the NFA representative. “If the appointment is in fact true, this is in violation of TTFA constitution as it states that appointment of coaches should be done by the Board.

“[…] My humble suggestion is that a board meeting is called to rectify this situation and the other issues that are currently plaguing the organization.”

Quan Chan, John-Williams and his vice-presidents apart, the lone show of support so far has come TFA representation, Moore, who said: “I have no objection to the recommendation of the technical committee.”

At present, the Women Warriors have 22 days before their opening 2018 Concacaf Championship fixture against Panama on Thursday 4 October in North Carolina, USA. Trinidad and Tobago are drawn in Group A along with Panama, Mexico and the United States.

The Concacaf tournament serves as the qualifying series for the France 2019 Women’s World Cup, with the top three nations in the confederation automatically advancing to the FIFA tournament while the fourth placed team head into a play off with South America’s third place finisher.

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The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

A MEETING between Minister of Sport Shamfa Cudjoe, the TT Football Association (TTFA) general secretary Justin Latapy-George and national women’s team manager Jinelle James took place yesterday to discuss issues surrounding funding for the senior women’s national team.

The release noted that no formal request for financial assistance was made by the TT Football Association (TTFA) for financial assistance for the Concacaf Women’s Championships or any other activities this year.

The release concluded that Latapy-George, in the meeting, said the executive “would like the opportunity to meet and reason with the team’s management in order to properly discuss the matter at hand, and subsequently produce a detailed proposal along with a formal request for funding to the Ministry.”

According to the ministry, the only request for assistance from the TTFA was for transport for players based in TT.

“On Monday September 10, 2018, Ms. Jinelle James (manager of the women’s team) contacted Mr. Patrice Charles, Director of Physical Education and Sport, MSYA to inquire about assistance for the team, in its efforts to have the foreign based players travel to Trinidad to join the locally based players for training.”

According to the Ministry, Charles advised James that a detailed request must be submitted by the TTFA, as the governing body, to the ministry.

“However, on Tuesday 11th September 2018, the MSYA through Mr Patrice Charles received an informal email from Ms Jinelle James, Women’s National Team Manager requesting a total of $159,360. to cover the cost of airfare for 28 persons, in the effort to have all foreign based players travel to Trinidad for training and preparation,” the release noted.

Cudjoe then called a meeting between the TTFA and the Ministry, which took place yesterday.

“At today’s meeting, Mr Justin Latapy-George, General Secretary of TTFA, claimed that neither he, nor the executive of TTFA were aware of the proposal being made by Ms James and he requested that Ms. James’ proposal be withdrawn with immediate effect. Mr. Latapy-George further stated that the executive of TTFA is in the process of considering other options, contrary to what Ms. James proposed, to facilitate the preparation of the players, that may consist of having the locally based players travel to the USA to train with the foreign based players, rather than have the USA based players fly to Trinidad.” The release noted that Latapy-George claimed the TTFA was in the process of finalising arrangements for the appointment of a coach and other technical support for the team.

“Mr Latapy-George stated that the executive would like the opportunity to meet and reason with the team’s management in order to properly discuss the matter at hand, and subsequently produce a detailed proposal along with a formal request for funding to the Ministry.

“Minister Cudjoe reminded the TTFA officials that time is of the essence, and that the team is depending on the TTFA management to work diligently and harmoniously in the best interest of dedicated players, and football by extension.

“Minister Cudjoe gave the officials a deadline of Monday September 17, 2018, no later than 12 pm, to submit the relevant proposal for consideration by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

“Given the fact that the end of fiscal year 2017/2018 is upon us, the Ministry will explore all possible means in order to provide the necessary assistance to the team, once the required documents are submitted.

“The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs remains committed to providing the relevant support in ensuring that T&T attains the highest standard of athletes at the international level. Further, the future of sport in Trinidad and Tobago is in good hands under the leadership and guidance of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs,” the release concluded

It seems like a case of déjà vu for the se­nior na­tion­al women foot­ballers. Four years ago, a few days be­fore the start of the CON­CA­CAF World Cup qual­i­fiers for the 2015 FI­FA World Cup in Cana­da, out of frus­tra­tion the then coach Randy Wal­drum plead­ed with the TTFA to show his play­ers re­spect. He tweet­ed “I need HELP! T&T sent a team here last night with $500 to­tal. No equip­ment such as balls, no trans­porta­tion from the air­port to the ho­tel, noth­ing.” Wal­drum's re­sponse/re­ac­tion or 'emo­tion­al dis­tur­bance' was brought about by ad­min­is­tra­tive blun­ders by the TTFA. The Hait­ian team pro­vid­ed tem­po­rary re­lief by do­nat­ing US$ 1300.00 to the na­tion­al team to meet ba­sic needs such as food and trans­porta­tion.

In 2018, fund­ing is an is­sue yet again with a break­down in com­mu­ni­ca­tion be­tween the team's man­ag­er and the TTFA in terms of ac­quir­ing fi­nan­cial sup­port from the Min­istry of Sport and Youth Af­fairs (MSYA).

In 2014, the team did not play any com­pet­i­tive match­es friend­ly in­ter­na­tion­al match­es be­tween the Caribbean Cup and the CON­CA­CAF qual­i­fiers. In 2018 the team has not played any com­pet­i­tive friend­ly in­ter­na­tion­als be­tween the Caribbean Cup and two weeks be­fore the start of the CON­CA­CAF qual­i­fiers against Pana­ma on Oc­to­ber 4th. The oth­er teams in their group are Mex­i­co and the USA. What does this say about their prepa­ra­tion? How se­ri­ous are the ad­min­is­tra­tors? What mes­sage is be­ing sent to the play­ers?

Un­like 2014, in 2018, with the start of the tour­na­ment on Oc­to­ber 4th, the po­si­tion of coach is shroud­ed in un­cer­tain­ty ow­ing in part to in­ter­nal wran­gling with­in the TTFA. The is­sue of the coach has con­tin­ued to be a prob­lem as Ital­ian Car­oli­na Morace and her three for­eign as­sis­tants who were ap­point­ed in Feb­ru­ary 2017 to launch the na­tion­al team women's pro­gramme have all de­part­ed.

The cur­rent prob­lems fac­ing the na­tion­al se­nior team is com­ing on the heels of the na­tion­al Un­der-15 team not par­tic­i­pat­ing in the CON­CA­CAF Un­der-15 tour­na­ment in Au­gust ow­ing to the late ap­pli­ca­tion for visas in­to the USA.

In 2014, the then TTFA pres­i­dent stat­ed that the 'gov­er­nance and struc­ture of the or­ga­ni­za­tion is faulty'. Is it the same rea­son for the re­peat sit­u­a­tion that the women team faces to­day or is it some­thing that on­ly ap­plies to the women's foot­ball? It is im­por­tant for the TTFA to re­store con­fi­dence in the pub­lic about its abil­i­ty to ef­fi­cient­ly, ef­fec­tive­ly and trans­par­ent­ly or­gan­ise foot­ball in the coun­try. These lessons have to reg­is­ter quick­ly as greater chal­lenges lay ahead. It can­not be busi­ness as usu­al.

"I don't feel it is nec­es­sary to know ex­act­ly what I am. The main in­ter­est in life and work is to be­come some­one else that you were not in the be­gin­ning." Michel Fou­cault

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The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

A former national player made a tongue-in-cheek statement yesterday. he said this is not DJW fault. It is the zonal heads that keep voting for him or abstaining on an agenda that suits his modus operandi. Blame them.

all of this just normal ting in T&T sports. Athletes not getting the right equipment, training gear. Scheduling gone wrong, passports not given to athletes on time, plane tickets not ready, hotel accommodations not yet arranged, Training not planned, coaching and coaching staff not paid or not paid on time. What else?

A former national player made a tongue-in-cheek statement yesterday. he said this is not DJW fault. It is the zonal heads that keep voting for him or abstaining on an agenda that suits his modus operandi. Blame them.